Josh Devine is set to make his Pirates first grade debut when the premiers resume their Central North campaign at Barraba on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Devine comes onto the wing for Andrew Mepham.
“He’s trained really hard,” Pirates coach Mat Kelly said.
“He’s got speed to burn. Him and Colby (La Chiusa) on the wings should give us plenty of pace.”
Devine is one of a few changes from the side that beat Scone in the first round. Jacob Budd moves back to the back row for Sam Collins with Nick McCrohan pushing back to the second row, while Anthony Barbara replaces the unavailable Damian Reti at outside centre.
Despite their contrasting first round results, with the Rams well-beaten by Narrabri, Pirates are wary.
“We’ve been caught out there in the past,” Kelly said.
“We know Barraba being their first home game of the season will come out firing.”
Attitude has been the big focus for them, and maintaining it for the 80 minutes.
“No-one was really happy with the Scone performance,” Kelly said.